Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and telling all your wondrous deeds.
O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell and the place where your glory abides. ~ Psalm 26:1-8
We aren't all that different from the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah had a difficult life. A really difficult life.
He didn't exactly come into the whole prophet thing all excited and raring to go.
He suffered. A lot. And he had to deal with a lot of shady, dangerous, wicked people.
Yet, even in the darkest times, Jeremiah found delight in God's Word.
Even when he was in pain, he didn't turn to the wrong people to ease his suffering. He made sure God knew where he stood.
When we speak the words of this Psalm, we are doing the same thing. Psalms were written thousands of years ago, but when we say (or sing) them aloud, they become our words.
They become our promises.
Read through this Psalm aloud. Say the words slowly. Internalize them (or "eat" them as Jeremiah did with God's word yesterday).
How do Jeremiah's promises, and the Psalmist's promises resonate with you?
Here my words, Lord. Amen